Friday, 8 January 2010

Board Member Becker? 2nd Time Around

According to the New York Times, President Obama is going to renominate a number of individuals that the Senate returned to the White House at the end of the first session of this Congress. Included in that group is Craig Becker to the NLRB. President Is Said to Decide to Renominate Six Choices.

Hat tip to a tweet from Ross Runkel, who nailed it, when he said at a minimum this means a delay in getting a full Board.

Even if the Board gets the go ahead from the Supreme Court, that does not mean that the Board will really be able to function in any but a very limited way. Although for employers who are not looking forward to some of the rulings likely to come from an Obama Board it may be a good thing in the short term, in the long run, it seems to me that the way the Board has become just another vehicle for partisan fighting (and this goes back long enough to catch administrations and Congresses of all political persuasions) is not a good thing. There should be a better way.